John Douglas (Jack) Le Vien was born in New York on 18 July 1918. He joined Pathe News as an office boy in the 1930s, later becoming a film editor and then a reporter. He served in the US Army as a press officer (1941-1945) including as press attaché to General Eisenhower. He was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the French Legion d'honneur. After the war he re-joined Pathe News as a news editor, later becoming general manager, editor-in-chief and finally vice-president. After Pathe News closed down, Le Vien was director of production at Hearst Metronome News, 1956-1959. He then joined ABC-Television as a producer, where he made "The Valiant Years" (1961), before leaving to set up his own company, Le Vien International Productions. He won an Oscar in 1963 for his film "The Black Fox" on Hitler’s rise to power. He made further films based on Churchill’s life and, with the co-operation of the Duke of Windsor, a film on the abdication crisis ("A King’s Story"). He died on 9 November 1999.

Le Vien’s films include: "The Black Fox" (1962); "The Finest Hours" (1964); "A King’s Story" (1965); "The Other World of Winston Churchill" (1966); "Walk with Destiny" [also called "The Gathering Storm"] (1974); and "Churchill and the Generals" (1979). His publications include books based on three of his productions: "The Valiant Years" (1962); "The Finest Hours" (1964); and "Churchill and the Generals" (1981).